


The Kitten

by Trickster_Angel



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Kittens, Light Angst, it's all so cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 17:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5507264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trickster_Angel/pseuds/Trickster_Angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wash is an eternal cat lover.</p><p>Written for <a href="http://littlefists.tumblr.com/">littlefists</a> for the RvB Secret Santa</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kitten

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saltsanford](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltsanford/gifts).



She’s hiding in a bush when he finds her. The kitten has a calico coat, a mix of orange, black and white. She looks at him expectantly, and meows quietly. She’s definitely a kitten but she’s old enough to be on her own. Still, trapped in a canyon on this odd planet, Wash can’t find it in himself to leave her.

“Here, kitty,” he says, kneeling down next to the bush. The cat blinks her large green eyes and meows at him again. Wash takes off his helmet and meets the kitten’s eyes. He blinks slowly, hoping to gain her trust, and waits for her to respond. She turns her head away from him, keeping him in her peripheral vision.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispers, inching closer. The kitten doesn’t react but her eyes stay wide open.

The sound of an explosion causes Wash to jump and the kitten to flee. Wash turns around to see a smoldering crater in the ground near where Freckles stands. Caboose is not too far off, and Tucker is running towards them, screaming at them. Wash would be doing that as well, but he has a kitten to find.

As he chases after her, he can’t help but smile. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d smuggled a kitten.

-

“I’d be worried for you if I wasn’t so damn impressed,” York said, looking at the other Freelancer. Wash was curled up on his bed and in his arms, he had a small gray kitten. The kitten was nuzzling his hand, purring loud enough for York to hear even at the door. Wash looked at the kitten as if she was the sun after a long, rainy day.

“How did you manage to sneak it onboard?” North asked, taking a seat at the end of the bed. The kitten moved over to the older Freelancer, butting her head against his waist. North stroked her head.

“She’s so cute,” Theta said, appearing next to the cat. She was unfazed by its sudden appearance and tried to pounce on the AI. It laughed as she fell right through him.

“There was a lot of stuff coming back from the last mission,” Wash said as the kitten made her way back to him, “One little thing like her just slipped right through the cracks.”

York sighed, “Yeah, I’m impressed. You smuggled a cat onboard.”

“I couldn’t resist,” Wash said, scratching the cat under her chin, “She looked so small and helpless.”

“And she’s why you’ve been sneaking food from the mess hall,” North asked.

“Yeah. She’s gotta eat.”

“The Director is never gonna let you keep her,” York mentioned as he walked over to the cat. She looked at him briefly before rubbing up against Wash’s chest. York frowned, “She doesn’t like me.”

“She knows a dog person when she sees one,” Wash replied, continuing to pet her.

“Did you name her?” North asked.

“Of course,” Wash said before turning to the cat, “Riley.” The cat immediately looked back at him.

“She knows her name already?” York asked, “That’s impressive. This whole thing is impressive.”

“Thank you. See, the thing is I want her to stay hidden and that won’t be easy.”

“You want our help,” North said.

“Yeah,” Wash replied, “I’m getting my AI in two days and if I’m stuck in the sick bay, I can’t look after Riley. Will you two do it?”

“It is most likely that the Director will find out about your cat,” Delta said, appearing near York’s shoulder, “It would be for the best to tell him.”

Riley looked at the AI, her tail swishing in the air. She moved to the edge of the bed, wiggled her butt in preparation and leapt. York took two steps backwards and she missed, landing on the ground. She turned back to Wash on the bed and meowed loudly. He got off the bed to pick her up.

“It’s only for as long as I’m in the sick bay,” Wash said, “She’s very little trouble. All you have to do is make sure she’s fed.”

“And clean her litter box?” York asked.

“No, she uses the toilet,” Wash said. North and York stared at him in surprise.

“A cat can be trained to use the toilet,” Delta mentioned.

“You’re not shitting me, are you?” York asked.

“Of course not, Agent York,” the AI replied.

“Thanks, D,” York said unenthusiastically.

“So, just food?” North clarified.

“Just food,” Wash agreed, “She has everything she needs here. Although, if you want to play with her, I have a laser pointer that she loves. Please guys. It’s just until I get out of the sick bay. I’ll take care of her after that.”

North and York looked at each other briefly.

“Can we take care of her?” Theta asked, “Please, North.”

“Okay,” North said and York nodded as well.

“Thanks, guys,” Wash said with a big smile. Riley meowed at them, seemingly happy as well.

-

“Here, kitty,” Wash nearly whispers, looking around for the kitten. He saw her dash off towards the back of the canyon and he has every intention of capturing her.

He finds her hiding behind a rock, chasing after a grasshopper. She leaps to catch it and he grabs her. She immediately starts fighting him, trying to scratch his hands through his armor and yowls loudly.

“Calm down,” he says, “I’m just trying to keep you safe.” He doesn’t want to imagine what Caboose’s “dog” would do if it found her.

“You’re safer with me than on your own,” Wash says as he carries her back to Blue Base. She eventually stops struggling and just screeches instead. She’s not nearly as calm as Riley, but this cat looks like she’d been surviving just fine before Wash came along. He gently strokes a finger over her head and she leans into the touch.

Wash always knew he could get a cat to like him.

-

“How’re you feeling?” North asked gently.

“My head hurts,” Wash replied, “What happened?”

“You don’t remember?” York inquired.

“No?” Wash said, looking between them, “Should I?”

They looked at each other sadly.

“You went crazy when they implanted Epsilon. You were just screaming,” York explained somberly, “They took it out and now the project’s on hold.”

“Thanks for that,” South muttered. Wash turned to her. He hadn’t even realized she was there.

“Is that what this headache is?” Wash asked. He felt like someone had tried to push a railroad spike through his head.

“Probably,” North said.

“Anyway, we brought something to cheer you up,” York said with a smile. Wash wasn’t sure why, but he felt a little uneasy.

“You want to give those magazines to him now?” North asked, “When South’s right here?” Her eyes widened in realization of what they were going to give him.

“I’m out,” South announced, walking out the door. Wash watched her go, then looked back at his friends.

“So what is it?” he asked.

“Nothing. We just wanted South out before we told you about Riley,” York replied.

“Oh,” Wash said, suddenly relieved, “How is she?”

“She’s fine,” North said, “She loves playing with Theta.”

“How does that work?” Wash asked with a smile.

“He appears and she chases him. He loves it,” North replied.

“You have such a cute cat,” Theta said, appearing next to Wash’s hand.

“Thanks Theta. I like her too,” Wash said.

“I’ve tried to get Delta to play with her but she wants to kill him,” York said, “He doesn’t like it.”

“But we play tag,” Theta said, turning to York, “Why would she want to kill Delta and not me?”

“Because he’s green,” Wash interjected. York sighed and North tried not to laugh. Theta looked at Wash, confused.

“Agent Washington, my coloration has nothing to do with why your cat dislikes us,” Delta said, materializing next to York’s head, “She merely is trying to hunt us down.”

“Hunt?” Theta asked, “She wants to hurt me?”

“Of course not,” North assured him, “She’s just playing with you.”

“So don’t worry, Wash,” York said, “We’ll look after her until you’re ready to come back.”

“Just rest for now,” North told him.

Wash smiled at them. “Thanks guys.”

-

“Dude, what the fuck is that noise?” Tucker calls from inside as Wash approaches with the kitten.

“Sounds like Grif when he’s snoring,” Simmons replies.

“It’s just a cat,” Wash says, approaching Tucker with the kitten in his arms. She is meowing loudly but has stopped trying to scratch him.

“Oh shit, there’re cats here?” Tucker asks. He gently pet the top of her head. 

“You like cats?” Wash questioned.

“’Course. They call me a real pussy magnet. Bow chicka wow wow.” Wash rolls his eyes. “Actually, my mom liked to adopt some of the local strays. Mind if I hold her?” Wash transfers the kitten to Tucker’s arms. He pets her as if he’d done it a million times. She starts to rub up against him and purrs loudly. Wash can’t help but smile; Tucker is good with cats.

“Ha, she likes me,” Tucker says and even if Wash can’t see his face, he knows he’s smiling.

“What’s going on in here?” Caboose demands loudly. The sound of heavy footfalls indicates that he’s not alone.

“Wash found a cat,” Tucker calls back, annoyed. Caboose’s attempts at being the leader are driving them both crazy.

“A cat?” Caboose asks, rushing forward to see her, “She’s so pretty!”

“Got a name for her?” Tucker asks.

“Laila,” Wash replies.

“A girl’s name?”

“She is a girl.”

“How can you tell?”

“She’s a calico.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I want to hold her,” Caboose interrupts so Tucker passes Laila off. From down the hall, Simmons sneezes loudly. Caboose pets her none too gently and Laila starts to meow desperately again.

“Be gentle with her, Caboose,” Wash says, “She’s just a kitten.” Caboose’s rough petting eases up and Laila starts to relax again. 

“She’s purring!” he exclaims excitedly.

“She’s really friendly,” Tucker notes, “Think she belongs to someone?”

“Who?” Wash responds, “We haven’t seen anyone else here. If there’s a city around, we’d probably know about it. And she doesn’t have a collar. She’s probably a stray.”

“I’m surprised there are cats on this planet,” Simmons calls, followed by another sneeze.

“Wanna come see her?” Wash asks.

“No thanks. I’m-” He interrupts himself with another sneeze, “allergic.”

“She’s all the way over here. How are you possibly that allergic?” Tucker calls.

“I am, alright!? I have a lot of allergies,” Simmons shouts back.

“Whatever, more cat for us,” Tucker says and takes Laila back from Caboose.

“We should to make a home for her,” Caboose says.

“For once, he’s got a good idea,” Tucker agrees.

“Alright. I’ll get on it,” Wash says, putting his helmet back on, “Give me Laila, Tucker.” Tucker hands the kitten over and Wash goes out to find things for her.

-

“This is pointless,” Texas said as they ran through the Agents’ private rooms, “We have made an enemy of everyone on this ship. We need to go.”

“We promised,” North replied. 

Texas sighed in exasperation.  “He won’t blame you for leaving it behind.”

“We promised,” York replied. They couldn’t just leave her. Wash was still in the sick bay and probably would be for a while. Project Freelancer was falling apart. It was ill-timed, but necessary. They already felt bad for not giving Wash a choice but if nothing else, they could keep their promise to him.

The door to Wash’s room was locked so they had to break it down. Riley jumped at the sight of them, her fur standing on end. She was scared of them.

“It’s okay, Riley,” North said, “Remember Theta?”

“Hello,” the AI said, appearing in North’s hands. The cat started to calm down. Watching the AI, she leapt into North’s hands.

“Got her,” he said. Theta disappeared again but Riley was calming down. She recognized North and started purring as he pet her.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered to her, “We’ll get you back to Wash soon.”

-

In the end, Wash finds a box and a blanket and plans to make it a bed for Laila, if she will ever leave the box.

“Laila, I need that box,” Wash says, looking at the kitten. She pokes her fluffy head above the wall of the box and meows at him. Wash wants to break down and pet her right there but he knows he has to be strong.

“Laila, you’re gonna be the one sleeping in that box. I need you out of it or you’re gonna sleep on the floor. You’re not sleeping in my bed.” Laila meows again and makes herself comfortable in the box, sitting down and tucking her paws under herself.

“I need another box,” Wash reasons and goes to find one. Laila seems to have no intention of leaving her box for the moment so he feels comfortable leaving her for a bit.

While they don’t have a ton of supplies, there’s enough that Wash can take some food for Laila and still feel comfortable with their situation. There are plenty of boxes too so he grabs another one for her bed.

She’s still in the box when he gets back, just as he expected. She’s running her claws down the side. She may also need a scratching post. At Washington’s appearance, she stops scratching and looks at him. He smiles at her before moving to grab the blanket.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asks as he starts to assemble her bed. She meows and then the sound of scratching resumes. “Good,” he replies, “I hope everyone else won’t mind the sound of your scratching.”

Laila meows again.

-

“Traitors?” Wash asked.

“Yeah,” South replied sharply as a nurse wrapped her injuries, “North did this to me.” She was angry, almost shaking in rage. “York’s gone too, and Texas,” she explained, “And Wyoming, and Maine. But first he dropped Carolina off a cliff.”

“Carolina’s dead?” Wash asked, horrified.

“Yeah. Weren’t you listening? It’s just you, me, and Florida no-Ow,” she recoiled in pain from the nurse. She wasn’t in great shape but clearly North had no intention of killing her, if she was being honest. Wash wasn’t sure he believed her.

“Agent South Dakota, please stay still,” the nurse said, “The crash must have-”

“The crash did jack shit,” she snapped back, “This was my brother.” Wash wasn’t sure who to believe.

“How long do I have to stay here?” he asked the nurse who had been attending South.

“Until the Director or the Counselor tells me you can leave,” he replied. Wash didn’t know what would happen to Riley in that time. He hoped that she’d be okay, at least for a little longer.

-

“Washington!” Caboose says excitedly, “Freckles and the kitty are playing.”

“What?” Wash asks, uncertain if he truly wants to know.

“Come watch,” the soldier insists. For the sake of his kitten, Wash decides to go. He hopes it’s something cute and innocent but he’s terrified that Freckles could hurt Laila.

He follows Caboose from the radio tower back to their side of the canyon. Freckles is there and Laila is on the ground, rolling on her back. She looks tired.

“What happened to her?” Wash demands.

“We were playing,” Caboose replies, “Freckles, play with the kitty.”

“Yes, Captain Caboose,” the automated voice says and a laser light appears. Laila immediately catches notice of it and goes to pounce on it. The light moves away from her and she follows it.

“See, they’re having fun,” Caboose says.

“Caboose, that’s the laser sight. He’s preparing to fire on my cat!” Wash says, going to pick up Laila.

“Stop, Agent Washington,” Freckles says and Wash can hear the sound of a gun being prepped. “It is playtime.” Laila is still trying to catch the laser dot, making her way across the grass.

“Caboose, tell Freckles to stand down.”

“He’s not going to hurt her!”

“Caboose, please. I need to get my cat.”

“Alright. Freckles, we can stop playtime now.”

“Yes, Captain Caboose.” The guns are deactivated and the laser light disappears. Wash sprints towards the kitten and scoops her into his arms. She meows at him, unaware of the danger she had been in.

Wash moves past Caboose and Freckles to go find Tucker. He finds the soldier inside their base, talking to Simmons.

“Tucker,” Wash says and holds out his cat to her. Tucker immediately takes her into his arms and Simmons sneezes. His right eye is red rimmed and runny while his left one looks completely fine. Wash decides not to ask. “Caboose was using Freckles’ laser sight to play with Laila. Please don’t leave her alone with him without supervising.”

“He wouldn’t have shot your cat, Wash,” Tucker says as he pets Laila.

“I don’t want to take that chance,” Wash replies before going back to the radio tower.

-

When Wash went back to his room for the first time, he wasn’t sure what to expect. According to South, his door had been broken down. That meant that Riley could be anywhere by now. She’d probably been caught and taken off the ship, if not, then she was probably put down. But Wash didn’t want to think about that. He wanted to find his cat.

He unlocked his bedroom door and found his room to be the exact way he’d left it. He could see the drawer that had become Riley’s bed with his sweatshirt as a blanket.  The door to his private bathroom was ajar. He couldn’t see Riley in the room but maybe she was in there. He ran to check but the bathroom was empty as well.

“Riley?” he said quietly. He hoped to hear her quiet meow or even her purring but he heard nothing. Riley was gone.

He figured as much but that didn’t make it hurt any less. He sat down on his bed, looking down at Riley’s bed.

Something white caught his eye. Moving the sweatshirt aside, he saw a piece of paper there. He grabbed it, his heart filling with hope again.

_We took Riley with us. She’s safe. When you find us, we’ll give her back to you._

_York & North_

Wash couldn’t help but smile. He was so relieved. Riley was okay. And he would get her back.

-

“You’re keeping a cat?” Felix asks. He looks at Laila, all snuggled up in her little box. She’s so cute, sitting there with her paws tucked under her and her tail curled around her.

“I found her and I didn’t think it would be safe to let her roam around here,” Wash explains.

“Are you sure it’s safe with you?” Felix inquires, “After all, you guys are wanted by just about everyone.”

“She’ll be fine,” Wash says. He picks up Laila and she meows loudly. She doesn’t want to leave her box.

“You should just leave it,” Felix tells him, “She’s a liability here. No one wants a cat wandering around a military base.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I snuck a cat where I shouldn’t,” Wash replies, “She’s coming with me.”

“Whatever. Your call.” Laila looks at Felix and hisses at him. Wash is surprised by her outburst.

“The fuck?” Felix asks, backing away from her.

“I don’t know. She’s never hissed at anyone before,” Wash says.

“Whatever, I’m a dog person anyway,” Felix says as he leaves the room. Laila hisses again as he goes.

“It’s okay, Laila,” Wash tells her, gently stroking her head, “He’s only trying to help.”

-

“Hey Delta,” Wash said, “I was wondering.”

“Yes, Agent Washington?” Delta appeared on the steering wheel in front of Wash. It was difficult to keep his attention on the road and not the AI.

“After the crash, what did you guys do with Riley?” He knew it wasn’t the best time but he’d been wondering for so long.

“Agent North Dakota took her. I am unsure what happened to her after that.”

“Thanks, Delta.” Wash said. There was still hope then. Hopefully he could find North and ask. Even if York was dead, there was the two of them still.

He wasn’t expecting the distress call to be for North.

He wasn’t expecting to be left with no answers.

He wasn’t expecting to always wonder.

-

“You saved the cat!” Felix snaps at him, “We lost soldiers but you saved the fucking cat!”

“Laila’s important to us,” Tucker says, “I only grabbed her coming here. No one died because of her.”

“You could have,” Felix replies, “We can’t afford to lose more of you.” He gestures towards the rest of the Blood Gulch Crew, the ones who’d made it to safety.

“You didn’t,” Tucker snaps at him, “Let it go, Felix.” The merc drops the conversation and Tucker is thankful. They already lost Wash. He doesn’t want to fight anymore.

Laila meows loudly. She sounds scared. With the battle and chaos, he’s a bit shaken up too. Not that he’ll ever admit that.

“Hey Laila,” Tucker says calmly, petting the kitten’s head. She meows at him before starting to purr.

“Don’t worry,” he whispers to her, “We’ll get you back to Wash soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> A note from your friendly neighborhood cat lover and geneticist. The reason Wash knew Laila was a girl does have to do with being a calico. In cats, the gene for coat color is on the X chromosome. There is a process in females called X inactivation in which one X chromosome will be randomly deactivated. When this happens early in development, some cells will have different coat color genes activated and the resulting cat will have patches of different colored fur. This won't happen in most males because X inactivation does not occur as they have only 1 X chromosome. Fun fact!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story. Please leave a comment or kudos to make a writer's day. Happy Holdiays. :)


End file.
